


Birthdays are (Mostly) Pointless

by Commodore_Enigma



Series: The SWAT Captain and the Detective He Loved [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gavin can be a thoughtful husband, M/M, Married Couple, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21725212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Commodore_Enigma/pseuds/Commodore_Enigma
Summary: Captain Allen is at the point in his life where December 2nd mainly serves as a grim reminder of the fact that he's getting older, and he believes there's little reason to celebrate or even acknowledge it. He's fine with treating it like any other day, but he discovers his husband has other ideas when he gets home from work.
Relationships: Captain Allen/Gavin Reed
Series: The SWAT Captain and the Detective He Loved [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534358
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Birthdays are (Mostly) Pointless

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this little piece entirely on 12/2 but finished editing it really late. So I was happy but half-asleep and mentally fried once I was done, and that's why I'm only posting this now. Oh well, it was the thought that counted, right?
> 
> This was inspired by a prompt from a D:BH rarepair server I'm on.

He had to do a double take as he stepped into his home, cooked fish and oil taking over his sense of smell. For a split second Kent thought he somehow unlocked the wrong apartment, but then the sight of Gavin standing at the kitchen counter preoccupied with something reassured him that this was, in fact, his home.

His husband beat him to speaking out his own thoughts. “Yes, old man. I can cook. Sometimes.”

Kent snorted and closed the door behind him. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Gav?” he remarked as he began to take off his boots.

“Did you have a perfectly normal, not special at all day?” Gavin phrased the question casually enough, but Kent knew that he’d anticipated asking it. His husband couldn’t _not_ address it, year after year.

“Yeah. As ‘same old’ as a SWAT team can get, anyway.” He sauntered over to Gavin’s side, “I wouldn’t include _this_ as ‘normal’, though.”

“I just happened to have an unusually light workday. I wouldn’t think into it so much if I were you,” he chided lightly.

“You chose my birthday of all days to cook something during your uncommon extra free time?”

Gavin waved his question off. “Just a sheer coincidence,” he dismissed playfully, pouring the sauteed vegetables evenly onto two plates.

“I remember how empty the fridge was last night. These are new,” he eyed the cooked salmon particularly, which reminded him how hungry he was.

“How observant of you, Sherlock Holmes. Maybe you should’ve been a detective instead.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “I doubt that. I like my career as it is.”

“How was it?”

Once again the question sounded casual enough, but he could see the anticipation and anxiety in Gavin’s eyes from across the small table. The younger man leaned a bit forward, suddenly tense as he watched Kent’s reaction. For such an arrogant man, he could be so endearingly modest at times. It never failed to amaze Kent when it happened.

“It was great,” he smiled gently at Reed for a split moment, before continuing, “I had no idea you could cook so well.”

Gavin relaxed, playing off his prior displayed doubts with a shrug, “Yeah well, the internet’s a thing. I got everything I needed off of it, it’s not like I invented the recipe.”

“You still made it yourself, though. And getting salmon to be both thoroughly cooked and flaky like that… that’s not easy. I ruined a perfectly good salmon doing that when I was younger.”

“You did?” Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“There was… a lot of trial and error when I was initially learning.”

Gavin laughed softly at that. “What a sight that'd be. Kenton Allen, the prodigy cook, being somehow bad at cooking.”

“I’m not _that_ good at it, Gavin. I’m a SWAT captain, not some Sous-Chef.”

“On top of being my husband and all that, living with you is like having an unpretentious fancy chef as a roommate. As far as I’m concerned, it’s amazing.”

Though he scoffed and shook his head at the description, the compliment warmed his heart as he took another sip of wine.

December 2nd, at this point in Kent’s life, mainly served as an annoying reminder. A reminder that with every year passing, he was closer to the eventual day where he would have to give up his career, once age ran down his body so much he couldn’t even do the most basic training exercises safely, or the DPD would just plain force him into retirement. It wasn’t an excuse to get drunk or, as time went on, pleasantly buzzed on hard liquors or expensive cocktails like he had done without fail in his twenties and thirties, and it sure as hell was no longer an excuse for his family to nauseatingly pamper him the way they did when he was a kid, much to the annoyance of his sister.

At least Gavin, in the years following their initial encounter, helped make it better. The date was almost, just almost, something to look forward to again, even more than before with the extra affection and thoughtfulness from him. The only person Kent would allow to dote on him to some capacity at this point in his life, as long as Gavin didn’t actually wish him a happy birthday or do any of the usual embarrassing, irritating conventions associated with it.

They were laying next to each other in bed, settling in for the night when Kent finally said what he wanted to all evening, “Thanks for the dinner, Gavin. I really wasn’t expecting it, but it was nice. You did well.”

Gavin turned around and faced him, pulling him into a secure embrace and nuzzling his cheek against Kent’s, the scratching from his stubble sending a pleasant shiver down his spine.

“You’re welcome,” he murmured against Kent’s ear. He pressed his lips to Kent’s cheek and added as he rested his head against Kent’s again, “Don’t worry, I won’t say it, old man. I’m merciful… sometimes.”

“Thank you,” Kent breathed with a sigh of relief. He pulled away for a moment, only to lean back in and kiss him as he cupped Gavin’s jaw, brushing his thumb over his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> There was no way in hell I would just pass by 12/2 and NOT write something involving Captain Allen. Happy (belated) birthday to the fictitious SWAT captain that I've grown far too fond of- I don't know why the hell I'm so invested in him of all characters, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.


End file.
